North Heights
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North Heights is a neighborhood in Youngstown, Ohio, nestled on the city's upper-North Side. It is so named because North Heights sits at a higher elevation than the Wick Park District, Youngstown State University, and Downtown Youngstown. It is bordered by Liberty Township to the north, with Gypsy Lane as the city limit; Belmont Avenue to the west; Guadalupe and Crandall Park to the south; and Fifth Avenue to the east. The neighborhood has a mix of modest homes, middle-class African-Americans, Italian and Irish-Americans, Russian Jews, and various other sects of Jewish peoples from other parts of the world. The Heritage Homes and the Levi Gardens house many elderly ethnic Jewish peoples; while just north of those complexes sit the Youngstown Jewish Community Center, Noah's Park, and Akiva Academy. Ironically, even the street names in North Heights are appropriately ethnic. Street names like: Carlotta, Granada, Goleta, and Madera dominate the urban landscape of this tree-lined community.
[edit] The History and Evolution of North Heights
The North Heights Neighborhood grew as the middle-class housing demand expanded with Youngstown’s growing industrial base. The bulk of the neighborhood came into the city as part of the 1929 annexation with the rest of Youngstown Township. The landowners who developed Wick Park established the Mahoning Golf Club in 1900 on several farms north of Wick Park. It was this area that would later be North Heights.
Wealthy residents took advantage of the prestige of Fifth Avenue and frontages along Crandall Park as well as the Henry Stambaugh Golf Course. The working class resided along the hillside that rose from the Crab Creek industrial district up to Ohio Avenue (on the other side of Fifth), and middle-class residents filled in between. The stylish houses, many still remaining, reflect the tastes of the period (1903–20) and feature architecture such as Neo-Classical, Craftsman, Tudor, and Stone-Cottage design elements.
[edit] Culture
Though the residents of North Heights lack a united sense of identity or self-consciousness, it is considered by many to be the nicest and most interracially blended neighborhood in the city. This diverse Northeast Ohio neighborhood striking resembles many parts of Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
[edit] Revitalization Efforts
- Schools: A new Harding school opened in 2004. Next to Harding is The Rayen School. This high school will be torn down, re-built on the same land, and will convert to a middle school upon opening in fall 2007. Hayes Middle School will be demolished.
- Crandall Park: Crandall Run flows east through Crandall Park and through several neighborhoods before entering Crab Creek. It is possible that Crandall Park will be expanded eastward and extend further toward Crab Creek as part of the 2010 Plan’s city-wide green network. There are three active neighborhood groups in the Crandall Park area, including Upper Goleta Block Watch, Coronado Block Watch, and North Side Citizens Coalition.
- Northside Pool: Northside Pool is a local, North Heights landmark; constructed in 1939, it has served the neighborhood's diverse residents through all the city's transitions. In recent decades it has served residents from throughout Youngstown: Brier Hill, the lower-Northside, the Wick Park District, and the East Side. The pool is currently being remodeled and is expected to open in late summer 2007.
